1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to ball joints, and more particularly to improved ball joint assemblies of the quick disconnect and cylindrical body types.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical of both of the quick disconnect and cylindrical body type ball joint assemblies are those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,859,060. In this patent there is disclosed a stud member having a ball-shaped swivel element on one end which is adapted to be received in swiveling relation by a socket cross-drilled in a cylindrical supporting body. A moveable retaining sleeve is telescoped over the body for retaining the stud member assembled within the socket.
The supporting body is cylindrical and the socket is cross-drilled therein to a diameter such that relatively sharp, feather edges are normally formed at the perimeter of the socket on diametrically opposite sides thereof, such feather edges being formed at the intersection of the socket wall with the body surface.
In the manufacture of such assemblies, it not infrequently occurs that in drilling the socket, a small burr is formed either around the entire or a portion of the socket perimeter. During normal handling of such supporting bodies in bulk quantities or in the further processing thereof, such as in barrel plating, the drilling burr becomes peened or bent radially inwarding of the socket. The socket opening as a consequence becomes smaller such that the ball of the stud member sized to fit slidably into the socket now encounters the inturned burr as an obstruction. Insertion then becomes difficult, and in some instances leads to an increase in production time and expense. Further, it is not uncommon upon attempting to remove the stud, the ball encounters the obstruction causing inconvenience.
As explained hereinabove, feather edges are formed on opposite perimetral sides of the socket opening. During bulk handling and barrel plating, for example, these feather edges may also become peened or bent inwardly thereby resulting in the same type of obstructions. Still further, such feather edges being sharp may lead to weakened stress regions in the supporting body.
Different techniques were tried in solving the problem presented by the drilling burr, but none was found to be satisfactory. One of these was the use of abrasive in some form for grinding off the burr, and another was the use of a peening technique similar to shot peening. A third involved drilling the socket to a larger diameter or making the ball of the stud member smaller, but the dimensional tolerances resulting were too great. Also, tapering the socket was tried, but this also resulted in such a loose fit as to be unsatisfactory.